How much friendlier can it get for Dallas Cowboys' Romo?
08:20 PM CST on Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Let me get this straight: Jerry Jones wants to make the Cowboys more Tony Romo-friendly next season?
Is that even possible? And what exactly does that mean? After all, Romo has one of the best gigs in pro sports.
Let's see, seven of the other 10 starters have combined for 22 Pro Bowl appearances. If Jerry can trade or sign Pro Bowl players at left guard, right tackle and fullback, then every offensive player will have played in at least one Pro Bowl.
Jerry could add Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and Jon Gruden to the coaching staff Рassuming they don't have to punch a time clock Рand conduct a weekly s̩ance over a Ouija board so Jason Garrett can regularly pick Bill Walsh's brain.
Then Romo won't have to ever worry about Garrett needing three quarters to dissect a defense, which is what he said happened against Baltimore in the last game at Texas Stadium. Or he won't have to worry about Garrett's protection scheme being exposed like he said it was against Philadelphia.
Besides if those four minds – each fluent in the West Coast offense – can't help Garrett find a way to get T.O. and Roy Williams engaged in the offense, then it's never going to happen.
Even T.O. can't argue with Walsh's ghost. Can he?
There's always a chance we're missing Jerry's point. It's easy to do these days since he never just comes out and says what he means anymore. Instead, he speaks in code that leaves us all trying to figure out what in the world he means.
As for Romo, how can Jerry possibly make things any friendlier for him?
It's not like he's ever had any real competition since becoming the starter. The Cowboys blew it when they didn't draft Brady Quinn in the first round a couple of years ago, especially since Anthony Spencer has been a non-factor.
Like many, I thought it would've been bad for Romo's psyche to draft Quinn because he might've felt threatened.
I've changed my mind.
Competition makes everybody better. Besides, I don't want players on my team who are threatened by it.
Perhaps Jerry just wants a show of support for Romo – like having everyone on the sideline wear his baseball cap backward. During the bye week, the players could all take a trip to Cabo for a week of bonding.
Jerry could put a copy of John C. Maxwell's Leadership 101 in every player's locker and they could discuss it one afternoon over fruit punch and pimento cheese sandwiches.
It would be like Oprah's book club.
When you think about it, Jerry's comments on Romo tell you everything about why this underachieving team has the heart of a tin man.
The 44-6 loss to Philadelphia proved that.
Jerry holds no one who matters accountable. This is just the latest example.
Firing assistant coaches Brian Stewart and Bruce Read isn't going to fix what ails this team. Neither is cutting Adam Jones.
Instead of figuring out ways to make his team more Romo friendly, Jerry needs to tell Romo it's time to play better.
No, his gaudy stats don't matter.
Quarterbacks are judged on wins and losses. Their legacies are forged on postseason success.
For now, Romo doesn't have a legacy worth discussing.
He's known for having Decembers to forget instead of ones to remember. He must do a better job of protecting the ball, because a quarterback who consistently commits turnovers is worthless.
And he needs to take full responsibility for playing poorly when the games matter most instead of insinuating the fault lies with others. He needs to accept the responsibility that accompanies a six-year, $67 million contract with $30 million in guaranteed money.
Do that, and Jerry won't have to create silly excuses for Romo's failures.
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